Relive the 2016 Excitement when Belize Men’s Volleyball Won Bronze
Wednesday, September 30, 2020 – It was four years ago to date when Belizean volleyball fans celebrated its first medal in sixteen years (since 2000) in men’s volleyball at the AFECAVOL Men’s FIVB World Championship Qualification Tournament held at the St. Catherine Academy Gymnasium in Belize City, Belize. Team Belize finished third after defeating Honduras 3-0 (25-16, 26-24, 25-15) in front of a huge festive crowd.
The team was comprised of the following players: Anderson, Elton (S); Salazar, Marlon (OH); Palacio, Yserri (MB); Hauze, Francis (MB); Castillo, Keith (OH); Santos, Radin (L); Nunez, Gabriel (OH); Coleman, Karym (OP); Galvez, Ean (MB); Codd, Bryton (OH); Martinez, Edgar (OH); and Caliz, Ernan (S). The Team Manager was Benedicto Ramos (BIZ), the Head Coach was Delio Arruebarrena (CUB), and Assistant Coaches were Albert Humes (BIZ) and Wallace Tillett (BIZ).
With the exciting victory over Honduras on closing night, Belize was able to secure the bronze medal, and end the tournament with a 4-2 win-loss record. Watch the game and the ceremonies in this video courtesy The National Channel.
The week-long event was held from September 23-30, 2016. It opened with a celebratory event to welcome all athletes, officials, delegates, sponsors and fans. The Belize Volleyball Association was proud to host this event, which was one of the first of many successful indoor and beach international tournaments it hosted in the years that followed.
Guatemala emerged as the champion, and Dominican Republic took home the silver medals. Final Standing: 1. Guatemala; 2. Dominican Republic; 3. Belize; 4. El Salvador; 5. Panama; 6. Honduras; 7. Nicaragua
Belize also took three individual awards (1) Best Scorer – Karym Coleman; (2) 2nd Best Blocker – Yserri Palacio; and (3) 2nd Best Spiker – Keith Castillo.
Then Miss Belize, Rebecca Rath, was present to distribute medals and trophies along with the Control Committee and major sponsors of the event. September 20, 2016 – it was a night to remember, hosted by the Belize Volleyball Association in Belize.
Photos are all courtesy AFECAVOL. Visit AFECAVOL’s Flickr Album for more.